


just a leap of faith

by Decayingfurby



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Love Confessions, M/M, Quarry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22150840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decayingfurby/pseuds/Decayingfurby
Summary: Realistically speaking, he could die. And wouldn’t it be such a bitch to die in a place like this, after crawling out from under the lair of a killer clown from outer space, who they had thoroughly killed.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 100





	just a leap of faith

**Author's Note:**

> This is rushed and doesn’t make much sense but hope yall enjoy it nonetheless :))

Realistically speaking, he could die. And wouldn’t it be such a bitch to die in a place like this, after crawling out from under the lair of a killer clown from outer space, who they had thoroughly killed. 

The others hadn’t hesitated. A surprise to everyone, Stan took the first leap off. After neatly removing his torn and dirt covered loafers, Stan went on a rant about bravery and mistakes that could have been. He told the Losers how much they meant to him and then he was hurtling over the edge. Beverly whooped enthusiastically, following right behind, yelling ‘cowabunga’ as she went down. 

To the shock of no one Ben was right behind her, throwing his arms in the air. Eddie watched Bill and Mike share enthusiastic and strangely fond looks before they were jumping off together, hands interlocked. That had left Richie and Eddie alone at the top, and this was when Eddie began having second thoughts. 

Richie was fidgeting with the buttons of his tacky shirt, probably contemplating whether or not he should remove it first.  _ Why bother  _ , Eddie thought?  _ You’re filthy head to toe. Drenching your shirt in greywater wouldn’t hurt it as much as the decay and rot from Neibolt house.  _ He kept looking at Eddie, nervous, and Eddie cocked his eyebrows. He tried saying something, and it probably would have been a smart mouthed comment, but Richie just smiled and said he’d meet him down there, and Eddie was alone. 

He stared down at the murky water of the quarry, goosebumps parading around his arms and neck, suddenly nervous and thinking maybe this wasn’t a good idea.  _ He could die.  _ After all the trouble they’d gone through to keep each other alive, he could fuck it up, land head first on a fucking rock, and  _ die.  _ Or maybe the dirty water would get into his infections and kill him, at a much slower pace, but kill him nonetheless. 

The others were having so much fun ( _ fun, in infected water! _ ), splashing each other, laughing, joking. He saw Bill push Stan’s head under water and gagged, recoiling and taking a single step back. He could always make up an excuse, could wait for the others to have their fun because he was a party pooper, and the thought of swimming around in actual piss was the stuff of nightmares. No clown needed. 

Eddie thought he had made up his mind when a shout from down below catches his attention, and he realizes Richie is calling his name. He peers over the cliff and makes out the small figure that Richie is from this distance. 

“ _ Eddie spaghetti, come on! We don’t have all day to wait on your ass, get down here! _ ”

A few of the Losers shout in agreement and Eddie rolls his eyes. 

“Are you fucking  **serious** right now, Richie? Do you know how many fucking chemicals and bacteria could realistically be floating around in that cess pool? I could get a staph infection, or fucking E. coli! You’re all a bunch of morons if you think-”

“ _ Don’t be a pussy!” _ Stan is shouting now, and Eddie gasps. Bill and Mike are laughing at Stan’s comment, pushing each other and splashing more. Eddie cringes when water gets in Mike’s mouth. “ _ Just come on, Eddie. You’re not gonna get fucking E. coli, we’re all gonna shower at the hotel after this. Come down! _ ”

At the mention of a shower Eddie’s shoulders relax a bit, and maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. He looks back down at the water, at his friends, who were patiently waiting for him to join them. Eddie groans and looks back at their piles of shoes before puffing up his chest, setting his jaw, and jumping off the cliff. 

The way down always sucked, even as kids. Your heart feels like it’s gonna burst from your chest. Wind rushed past your ears, and it was loud and obnoxious, but Eddie was used to loud and obnoxious things. If any of the Losers were yelling their congratulations he couldn’t hear it. When he finally breaks the surface of the water it’s like slamming into a brick wall of realization. 

_ He was alive. He had survived. But now what? _

Eddie is gasping for air when he resurfaces, desperately rubbing any water off of his face, as if that would get rid of the germs. He can hear the other Losers cheering as he flails his arms desperately, grabbing for whoever was closest to hold onto. His hands grip broad shoulders and he looks next to him wearily, finding a smiling Richie Tozier. 

“You okay, Eds?”

“Don’t fucking call me that, asshole. Do I look okay? Look at where we’re at, there’s so much fucking bacteria a-and our cuts are going to get infected, we’ll be in the hospital after this, and-”

“If it’s with all of you, together,” Ben pipes up, earning his friends’ attention. “I’d gladly sit in a hospital bed.” 

“Ben, you are way too soft, man!” Richie cries, and Eddie finds himself agreeing, but everyone else is laughing again and Eddie can’t bring himself to feel even a bit annoyed. 

* * *

They swim up to a familiar spot that Eddie hadn’t seen since they were 13. 

They had always come to the quarry, only swimming in it during the spring and summer, and still exploring the woods surrounding it in the winter and fall. Each time Eddie had complained about the water, but each time he’d always find himself jumping right back in it, chasing a buck toothed grin and dorky glasses. He supposed it might have been some kind of way to impress Richie. He was always doing that, because if the attention he got wasn’t Richie’s, he was reluctant to accept it. That didn’t apply to the other Losers, of course. But Richie was the one he fucked around with the most. 

He suddenly remembers the first time they swam in the quarry with Beverly. It was an odd experience, hanging out in a typically boy centric place with a girl. But Beverly was cool, so hanging with her made them seem cool by default. And Eddie felt like he had been the only one not entranced by her, only joining in with the others so as to not bring attention to himself. He supposed her hair had looked quite nice, freshly cut and curly at the ends. But really that was it. 

All the times after were still kind of blurry, but thinking of them still made his heart flutter. Thinking of his friends had been doing that to him lately, because fuck he missed them so much. And he decided he wouldn’t lose them again, down under Neibolt house, clutching the clowns heart in their hands, killing It. He couldn’t, not after all of this. 

The new spot they’re in is shallow, and he can even see rocks under the water for sitting on. It’s where Richie seats himself, taking off his glasses and dunking them in the water. Eddie rolls his eyes and promises to himself that he’ll definitely give them a proper cleaning as soon as they make it back to town. 

Bill and Mike have continued their splashing fight, poor Stan caught in the middle of it. Bev and Ben have drifted off on their own, talking about who knows what. Eddie swims to where the rocks are at, managing to stand up enough above the water so his chest is poking out. He chances a glance at Richie and finds his friend kind of just...staring at the water. 

“Richie,” Eddie says, but Richie doesn’t look up. Just keeps…staring. “Richie, is everything okay?” Eddie sinks back into the quarry and glides over to Richie. He puts a hand on the other man's knee, which snaps him from his trance. Richie stares down at Eddie and squints, because he doesn’t have his fucking glasses on like an idiot. 

“Eddie…” he finally realizes, and Eddie rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. “I’m...I’m fine, I just...can’t believe it’s finally over. Everything, I mean. We can all go back to our normal lives and…” Richie’s voice trails off and Eddie frowns at the far off and sad look in his eyes. Richie glances back down to the lake and fidgets with his fingers. 

“You can go back to your wife.”

Eddie’s chest stings. It fucking stings and it may as well be his own fault. He doesn’t say anything, just keeps his hands on Richie’s knees, absentmindedly rubbing at a spot, maybe to calm himself or Richie down, maybe both. The only sounds are splashing water and cheerful giggles, and Eddie realizes something that makes him want to have a fit. 

“Richie where the fuck are your glasses?”

Richie looks back up at Eddie, still squinting, and rubs at his face for some reason. He groans and his eyes darted around the water. “Hey, sorry to be a mood killer, guys, but I dropped my glasses. Mind helping a poor old blind man out?” 

There’s a collective groan as the others curse him out, and they’re all diving into the water to look for Richie’s stupid glasses. Eddie doesn’t, staying above surface to keep Richie company, and because he really needs to get something off his chest. Eddie brings a thumb and forefinger up to his wedding ring, twisting it around his finger, contemplating. 

He looks Richie dead in the eye, who is probably having trouble making him out but that’s okay, he can tell Richie what he does next. Eddie yanks the ring off and throws it, far, far away, now lost in the quarry. He glances back to Richie, who is still giving him that confused look. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. I just never thought I was brave enough. But you proved me wrong. Thank you, Richie, really.”

Richie is taken aback, clearly not understanding the sincerity of the situation. Ben comes up from behind them suddenly, glasses in hand, and Richie thanks him profusely before slipping them on. When he can see again he turns in the direction Eddie had thrown his ring, then back to Eddie. 

“Did you..?”

  
“Yep.”

“Your wedding ring…”

“Yeah. I don’t need it anymore.”

Richie is quiet, lips parted and probably trying to process what had just happened. Eddie can only smile at that confused, dumbstruck look, and suddenly his chest tightened with unspoken emotions. 

Maybe he should tell Richie the truth. That he had planned to leave Myra long before Derry, before he even remembered his friends. Because their marriage was like a fucking bear trap, or worse, and Eddie’s foot had been stuck for too long. He was ready to pry that trap open and feel free to be himself, and to be with whoever he wanted. When he saw Richie again for the first time in twenty seven years, shared drinks and forgotten memories with him, Eddie realized exactly what his life had been missing. 

He had never been happy with Myra. She was too controlling, too forceful, too...herself. She really was his mother made all over again, and Eddie had never been brave enough to do anything about it, because Myra was also manipulative. Just like his mother. But Richie was different. Richie was obnoxious, and gross, and didn’t care about protein shakes or weekly bingo sessions at his grandma’s nursing home. Eddie could be whoever he wanted with Richie, and Eddie wanted to be  _ Richie’s. _

Before Eddie can stop himself he surges forward, lips pressed against Richie’s, and it’s disgusting because they’re both covered in greywater and Richie smells like bile and intergalactic alien goop but he doesn’t  _ care _ , because Richie is also warm and inviting and kissing him back, pulling Eddie closer. His hands on Eddie’s hips, parting his lips so Eddie can snake his tongue inside, both of them moaning in  _ want _ . Eddie’s waited twenty seven fucking years for this, and christ was it worth the wait. 

When they pull apart Richie is looking down at him wondrously, like Eddie hung all the stars in the sky or some shit, and Eddie chokes back a laugh when he sees tears well up in Richie’s eyes. “Fuck, Eds, I don’t know where that came from but…”

“Yeah...me too, Rich. I love you too.”

“Oh, well it’s about time.” Richie and Eddie tense and turn around, only to find their friends staring back at them, a few with shit eating grins on their face. Eddie groans in embarrassment as Richie wraps an arm around him, laughing with that deep laugh that was so  _ him.  _


End file.
